Saturday, March 17, 2012

I'm going to start using Fridays to post stupid things people do online. In honor of the most concentrated mass of unbridled stupidity online I'm calling it "Facebook Friday."

Today we have two stories to make us feel superior to the great unwashed masses:

Professor tells students, "F*** Off, Republicans"

Craig Robinson of the Iowa Republican reports that Professor of Anthropology Ellen Ewin at the University of Iowa has learned that telling students with opposing views to "F*** Off" Republicans!" is not a good idea. Especially when using your university email account to respond to a university vetted and approved mass emailing. Granted it was a little off color, but seems to be an attempt to make light of being a (persecuted?) minority. Professor Ewin's response makes it seem that feeling a need to hide conservative leanings might not be entirely unjustified at the University of Iowa.

He knew he forgot to do something...

Bill Gallagher of WJBK Detroit reports that after getting a tip that the man they were looking for in a series of robberies was named Anthony Wilson they looked at his Facebook page. The page had a picture with him wearing the same clothes he wore to rob a bank. He's been arrested and is awaiting trial.

I don't want to spend all my time harping on the risks of self-inflicted injury online, but, like watching one of those 'dumbest' shows, I can't seem to stay entirely away, so every week I'll watch for interesting and amusing examples of self-destructive behavior online and post a few on Friday. Let me know what you think.

About Me

Herbert (Bert) Knabe Jr. is a blogger specializing in online
security, privacy and intellectual property. He has long been a fan of
Apple computers and occasionally writes on their products. Online since the mid '80s, he has been blogging on a variety of topics
including U.S. policy and online privacy/security since 2005.

He
has twenty years experience in the newspaper industry, initially as a
production artist, then as a computer technician supporting content
producers. This experience gives him a strong understanding of graphic
production for print and web.

Photography has long been a passion
of Bert's, and he was honored to have a photo included in the PDF
version of the 2011 Plus One Collection. He specializes in cell and
smart phone photography.

Bert lives and goes to church in Lubbock, Texas with his wife of twenty+ years and their five children.